This invention relates to a carrier coated with antigens or antibodies, which performs a immunological reaction with human, animal or plant serum or body fluid received in a vessel.
The prior art discloses vessels for performing immunological reactions, which are known as MICROTITRE.RTM. plates and which comprise a plurality of juxtaposed depressions arranged in a plastic card. Such MICROTITRE.RTM. plates are coated in a complicated process with specially prepared antigens or antibodies. The serum to be investigated is placed in the depressions of the vessel and the antibodies present in the serum are bound to the antigens. In the further reaction process this binding action can be made clearly visible. This known process, in which the vessel simultaneously constitutes the carrier coated with the antigens and/or antibodies, suffers from several disadvantages.
During the stepwise immunological reaction process of the prior art, particularly through intermediate scavenging, the binding of the antigens and the antibodies is partly broken down, so that between about 30 and 70% of the originally bound antigens and antibodies are lost. Thus, standardized, reproducible test results are either not obtained or obtained only to a limited extent. Due to the fact that the carriers are constructed as vessels and that the juxtaposed depressions of the microtitre plate can only be coated in each case with one type of antigen, the general use of immunological methods for early, rapid and differential diagnosis of diseases and their pathogenic agents is possible only with difficulty. Due to the high material and technical expenditure, the production of carriers in vessel form is extremely cost-inventive. This additionally restricts the use of the prior art carrier.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention provides a carrier coated with antigens and/or antibodies for immunological reactions in connection with vessels used in serology which can be manufactured with low technical and material expenditure and which is easy to use. It is an additional object to provide a carrier which gives test results that are standardizable and reproducible, so as to permit early, rapid and differential diagnosis of diseases and pathogenic agents.